This invention has been created without the sponsorship or funding of any federally sponsored research or development program.
The present invention is directed to an exercise rope commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cjump ropexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cskip ropexe2x80x9d. Jump ropes are usually made of a length of rope or cord having handles at each end. The handles are gripped by the user""s hands and the rope is swung over the user""s head and under the user""s feet in a continuous motion. The user jumps or skips in coordination with the swinging of the rope so that the feet are lifted just before the rope approaches the feet, thereby allowing the rope to pass beneath the feet. Jump roping or skip roping is used by many individuals as the aerobic exercise component of an overall fitness program. Jump roping also provides toning of certain muscle groups involved in the swinging of the rope and in jumping. However, many individuals who exercise choose not to use a jump rope. Either they do not find jump roping to be an enjoyable or satisfying exercise or they have difficulty with the timing aspect of jump roping. If the rope is too light it is difficult for the user to develop a xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d for the rope and to achieve proper timing between jumping and passing the rope beneath the user""s feet. If the rope is too heavy, it tends to shift the jump roping or skip roping from a predominantly aerobic and toning exercise to an arm strengthening exercise. There have been attempts to increase the weight of the middle portion of the rope which passes beneath the user""s feet. This type of jump rope tends to place too much strain on the user""s arm joints, the shoulders in particular, and has not been accepted by the public. There is also a tendency for the rope to narrow down in the middle and get caught on the user""s feet. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art jump ropes have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide a jump rope that is dynamically balanced for making the jump rope easy to use while enabling the use to achieve the aerobic and toning benefits normally associated with the use of a jump rope.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a jump rope which is dynamically balanced so as to require less effort in swinging the jump rope, thereby enabling a user to exercise with the jump rope for a longer period of time.
A jump rope consisting of an elongated cord extending between a pair of handles. The cord has a pair of end portions connected to the handles, a mid portion and a pair of intermediate portions between the mid portion and the end portions. Each of the intermediate portions has a weight per unit length that is two to four times that of the remaining portions of the cord. More specifically, the length of each intermediate portion is from 10% to 24% of the total length of the cord and the length of each end portion is from 8% to 12% of the total length of the cord. In one embodiment of the invention, the extra weight of each intermediate portion is achieved by having the thickness of the intermediate portion greater than the other portions of the cord. In another embodiment of the invention, the extra weight of each intermediate section is achieved by having beads strung on the intermediate sections.